Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Racine Police Department Wants Approval To Buy SnapTrends To Spy On City Residents Using Social Media

The Racine City Common Council expected to approve a waiver for bidding requirements to purchase SnapTrends software for its police department, so it can spy on city residents using social media.

By H. Nelson Goodson

September 2, 2014

Racine, WI - On Wednesday, the Racine City Common Council is scheduled to approve the August 25, recommendation from the City Finance and Personnel Committee to grant a waiver from formal bidding requirements and instruct the Purchasing Agent to buy for the Racine Police Department a social network monitoring software to spy on city residents. The Common Council will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The cost for the SnapTrends software is $4,200 and will be financed from the federal asset forfeiture funds, according to its September 3rd meeting agenda.

The software is made by SnapTrends of Austin, Texas. The software will be able to spy on Racine residents while using social media that includes Twitter and Facebook postings, even if they are not friends with users.

Today, the Racine Police Department or any law enforcement agency while using its Twitter or Facebook (FB) accounts can just target an individual with either social network account and can monitor their FB or Twitter postings without actually purchasing the SnapTrends. Purchasing the SnapTrends is just a waste of an expenditure.

Police departments around the country began using portable antennas that fool cellphones into connecting to it and police can spy on those they monitor. Now, police departments began using SnapTrends to also monitor all social media activity in their jurisdiction. The NSA is already spying and collecting mega data from domestic cellphone and e-mail users.

It's illegal to spy on residents without proper warrants, but many police departments using such software are deemed corrupt and in violation of the Constitutional rights of it citizens, according to Civil Rights activists and organizations monitoring police illegal activity.

About Me

"Words conveyed by wisdom and truth influence inevitable change, Las palabras que contienen sabiduria y verdad influyen inevitablemente al cambio", H. Nelson Goodson said.
Goodson is well known in the local organizing community network. Nationally, Goodson is one of the foremost respected immigration rights and reform journalist.
He is also one of America's foremost Latino civil libertarian.
The Badger Blogger 2008, Patrick wrote: Mr. H. Nelson Goodson, "You have covered things that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper won't and you cover it in a way they fear." Posted on Badger Blogger on August 17th, 2007 at 6:39 p.m.
Goodson was instrumental in helping to coordinate the national Immigration movement early in 2006, which drew millions of supporters for immigration rights and reform. Goodson further encouraged numerous members of the Latino entertainment world to endorse and support immigration reform throughout the nation in 2006, published in "El Conquistador Newspaper" issue on November 21, 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Currently, Goodson has more than 32 years experience in news investigative reporting. (2015)

Immigration March 2007

Goodson marched with immigrants calling for a just comprehensive immigration reform, which would create a path for legalization for more than 13 million undocumented immigrants and to keep families together.